CHAPTER 118: THREE BUTTONS TO HELL

The guards lunged, fists and rifles crashing into us.

I tried to reach Zaara, but one guard slammed the butt of his gun into my stomach. The air ripped out of my chest. I doubled over, gagging.

I barely heard Zaara scream my name before another blow crashed into the side of my head.

Pain exploded behind my eyes.

By the time I blinked away the sparks, two guards had Theo pinned against the wall, wrenching his arms behind his back despite his howl of pain. Blood dripped steadily down his arm, leaving fat red drops on the floor.

Zaara kicked and thrashed. But the guard holding her only shoved the pistol harder into her throat, and she went rigid.

"No. Please let her go!" I begged, trying to push forward.

Four more guards swarmed me, slamming me face-first into the wall. My cheek scraped raw against the concrete. Heavy hands yanked my arms behind me and twisted my wrists until I felt something pop.

I yelled in pain as metal cuffs bit into my skin.

"Take them." The man in the suit yelled.

And the guards lunged again.

"No!" I shouted. "Leave her alone! Leave them both..."

One guard slammed a fist into my stomach again.

When I looked up again, two guards were dragging Zaara backward down the corridor. Her eyes locked on mine, she was crying.

"Vincent—!"

Her voice was cut off as she vanished around the corner.

Theo was shoved after her, his feet dragging, blood still dripping in on the floor.

"Zaara!" I screamed. "Zaara!"

But the guards wrestled me around, shoving me forward.

I stumbled down hallways I barely saw through the haze of pain and panic.

Finally, they shoved me through a wide entrance, back into the main chamber.

I staggered to a halt, gasping for breath.

I lifted my head, and saw the others.

Jacob, Suri, Kira, Nomi.

They were huddled together near the center of the room, shaking.

Jacob looked up first. His face crumpled.

"Oh god... Vincent..."

Suri started crying silently. Kira covered her mouth, shaking her head. Nomi stared at me, trembling.

My knees buckled.

I fell forward onto my hands.

My teeth chattered.

"We failed..." I whispered.

My voice sounded like it belonged to someone else.

"There’s no way out."

The room fell silent.

I stayed there on my knees, gasping, while my mind screamed the same words over and over.

Zaara. Theo.

I couldn’t save them.

There’s no way out.

Jacob knelt beside me, his hands shaking as he touched my shoulder.

"Vincent," he said softly, "what happened?"

I didn’t answer.

I couldn’t.

"I failed," I whispered instead, eyes glued to the floor. "I failed..."

Jacob leaned closer. "What do you mean—where are they? Where’s Zaara? Where’s Theo?"

"I failed."

The words stuck in my throat, jagged and raw. "They took them. I tried....I tried, but I couldn’t stop them."

I shook my head violently. "They had guns. They were everywhere. I couldn’t... I couldn’t do anything—"

"I knew it," Suri’s voice came, sharp and bitter from across the room.

"I knew something was wrong."

Everyone turned toward her. Her face was pale, eyes wide with a terrible kind of understanding.

"I was watching... earlier, when the guards left the door open. It wasn’t an accident."

Her voice trembled. "They wanted us to try to escape."

Jacob blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"They’re smarter than us. All of this," she gestured around the room, "is a trap. Everything is a setup. Every little act of rebellion—every spark of hope—they let us have it. Just so they can crush it harder."

Silence fell.

Suri continued. "But the guards today? They left the door open. Like bait. They wanted us to think we had a chance."

I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms.

"They used us," I breathed. "They knew we’d try something."

"They wanted to punish someone," Nomi murmured, her voice like a ghost. "They wanted blood."

Suddenly, the speakers overhead crackled. The voice returned, colder than ever.

"Attention contestants."

We all froze.

"Due to tonight’s... defiance, the schedule has been adjusted."

A low hum began vibrating through the walls, as if the building itself was angry.

"The next game will begin in 30 minutes."

Gasps rang out.

"It is now scheduled for 11:00 p.m., instead of midnight."

Everyone stared at each other, panic growing.

"Consider this an adjustment for your disobedience."

"And, as punishment, the difficulty level has increased. The game will now test not just your survival—but your loyalty."

"Let this be a reminder."

"No one disobeys the game. There’s no forgiveness for rebellion."

The voice cut off.

Silence followed.

Nomi’s lip trembled. Kira burst into tears. Jacob stood frozen, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Suri sank down against the wall, her face in her palms.

I knelt there, broken, my whole body throbbing.

Thirty minutes.

No Zaara. No Theo.

They were somewhere in this hell, and I wasn’t with them.

And now we were all going to be thrown into a harder game.....with even more pain, even more manipulation.

Because of me.

Because I failed.

"We’re screwed," I muttered.

The sound of boots. Dozens of them. Marching.

We barely had a minute to recover before the door slammed open.

One by one, they yanked us to our feet.

"Move," one barked.

We didn’t need a second warning. Rifles aimed at our backs were motivation enough.

I caught a glimpse of Nomi’s terrified face beside me. Jacob clenched his fists. Suri was already silently crying. No one spoke. We were past begging.

They marched us through the halls in silence.

But something felt wrong.

The corridor wasn’t the usual path to the game arena. It was underground.

Then we saw it.

A massive chamber carved into stone. Cold, brutal, and unnatural. The ceiling stretched so high it disappeared into darkness.

And we froze.

Strange machines buzzed on the walls. Cameras shifted, watching, waiting.

In the center was a platform...no, two platforms. Suspended above them... cages.

And inside the cages...

Zaara.

Theo.

They were hanging mid-air, caged and chained, a spotlight trained on each of them like prey on display.

Theo’s shoulder was still bleeding, one of his eyes were swollen. Zaara’s eyes were wild with panic. She saw us and screamed through the gag, thrashing violently. Her cage swayed above.

"No," I choked. "What the hell is this—"

A voice boomed from every wall.

"Welcome, contestants."

"Because of your disobedience..." The voice paused. "...the game has changed. In front of each of you are three buttons," the voice said. "Red. Green. Purple."

"Only one button will lower the cages and bring Theo and Zaara closer to safety."

"One will drop them toward the acid."

"And the third..."

A beat.

"Will kill you instantly."

Gasps filled the air.

"Each of you will press a button. There will be no second guesses, no retries. You have ten seconds once your turn begins. If you don’t pick... everyone dies."

A platform rose from the ground.

Three buttons. One glowing red. One green. One purple.

Then a timer appeared above it.

A massive digital clock lit up above the stage:

10 seconds for each player.

Theo slammed a bloodied fist against the cage bars, screaming something we couldn’t hear. But the rage in his eyes said it all.

Kira was shoved forward.

"No, no, no...please, I can’t." she cried.

"Press it," the voice snapped. "Now."

Kira’s trembling hand hovered over the buttons. "Red means danger, right? Purple... purple is death, green is... safety..."

She slammed her palm down on green.

A sharp hiss.

A steel arrow shot from the wall and buried itself in her throat.

Blood sprayed. Kira dropped to the floor, twitching, gurgling.

Suri screamed. Nomi grabbed my arm, sobbing. I couldn’t look away.

The guards dragged Kira’s body off the platform.

Next.

Jacob was pushed forward, shaking violently. His eyes flicked between the three buttons.

"Please," he whispered. "Don’t make me do this..."

He slammed his fist on red.

Zaara’s cage jerked downward.

She screamed as her cage creaked lower....five feet from the bubbly acid now.

"No. STOP!" I shouted.

But no one listened.

The platform reset.

Nomi was next.

She stepped forward, lips trembling, eyes locked on Zaara.

"I’m sorry," she whispered.

Then she slammed green.

Zaara’s cage jolted to a stop. No movement.

"Correct."

A wave of relief flooded my chest. Zaara exhaled shakily. Theo shouted something but I couldn’t hear, my pulse was thundering in my ears.

Then came my turn.

I stepped forward.

My heart thumped in my throat.

Three buttons.

Red. Green. Purple.

Zaara shook her head, screaming through the bars. "Don’t pick purple! Don’t!"

But my hand moved.

Green.

I don’t know why.

The moment I pressed it..

A loud groan echoed.

It descended.

A foot lower.

Closer to the bubbling acid.

"No...no!" Suri screamed.

Zaara’s scream pierced through everything.

I fell to my knees.

Then Suri stepped forward, sobbing, muttering to herself.

She pressed red.

Instead of a click, her entire section of the floor gave way.

"Nooo!" she screamed...

The glass shattered, and Suri plunged downward into the pit.

Her scream was short.

Jacob grabbed my hands and yelled.

A timer began flashing above us.

10 more minutes remaining.